1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a pressure vessel and to a method of manufacturing the pressure vessel. More particularly, this invention relates to a pressure vessel of the type used in an automotive air conditioning system such as a refrigerant receiver or an accumulator dehydrator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,775, (Shiina et al.) discloses a receiver of the type used in an automotive air conditioning system and a method for the manufacture of such receiver. The receiver of the Shiina et al. reference is composed of a generally cylindrical body having a thin annular wall, a first integral and unitary end, and a disk-shaped closure member, commonly referred to as a puck, inserted into an opposed open end of the cylindrical body. The closure member is secured to the cylindrical body, after insertion of a desiccant material or other elements of the receiver, as used in a refrigerant circuit, into the interior of the cylindrical body. Shiina et al. disclose that the open end of the cylindrical body is reshaped by electromagnetic forming, after insertion of the closure member, to closely conform the interior of the open end of the cylindrical body to the exterior of the closure member to thereby secure the closure member and the cylindrical body to one another. Shiina et al. teach that the closure member and cylindrical body are sealed using O-rings. Nevertheless, the assembly of the closure member and the cylindrical body to one another according to this reference does not result in a receiver that is pressure-tight, i.e., that it eliminates all leak paths for the molecules of refrigerant fluid. Consequently, the O-rings must be used between the exterior of the closure and the interior of the cylindrical body to retain the refrigerant fluid within the receiver of this reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,250, to Hutchinson et al., also discloses a receiver for an automotive air conditioning system that consists of a generally cylindrical aluminum body with a thin annular wall and an initially open end which is closed, after the insertion of a desiccant material or other elements into the cylindrical body, by a disk-shaped aluminum closure member, or puck, inserted into the open end of the cylindrical body. According to the Hutchinson et al. reference, the closure member is joined to the cylindrical body using an annular weld. However, it is very well known in the art that welded joints, or even brazed joints, in an air conditioning system receiver are subject to leakage, and, therefore, have not been totally satisfactory in service because of such phenomena.
It is also well known to use spin welding for pressure vessels in an air-conditioning circuit, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,628,704; 4,675,971; 5,245,842; and 5,375,327.
The disclosures of the aforesaid U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,191,775; 5,425,250; 4,628,704; 4,675,971; 5,245,842; and 5,375,327 are incorporated by reference herein.